The final actions needed to review the Judiciary’s mold remediation and air-conditioning purchase now heads to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres after both chambers of the Legislature adopted the conference committee report.

The House adopted in Monday’s session the Conference Committee report 20-03, which reported on Rep. Angel Demapan’s (R-Saipan) House Bill 20-164 with a vote of 19-1. The bill seeks to appropriate $15 million from the Special Casino Gross Revenue Tax Account to several programs in the CNMI, including the Judiciary’s request for funding to address its mold issue and to buy new air-conditioning units for the Guma Hustisia.

The Guma Hustisia has been closed for about three months now due to the mold problem, which has only worsened after the building’s air-conditioning units failed.

The Senate, at their June 6, 2018, session, adopted the report and, with the House adopting the report as well, sets the bill on track toward Torres’ desk for enactment.

H.B. 20-164 also addresses several CNMI obligations such as land compensation; balances owed private telecommunications company Docomo Pacific for Rota and Tinian connectivity; and the Sugar Dock rebuilding project, among many others.

Only Rep. Ed Propst (Ind-Saipan) voted against the adoption of the conference committee report.
Rep. John Paul Sablan (R-Saipan) told Saipan Tribune in a previous interview that Saipan will receive about $1.7 million in appropriation, while Rota and Tinian would get about $1.2 million each.

Erwin Encinares | Reporter

Erwin Charles Tan Encinares holds a bachelor’s degree from the Chiang Kai Shek College and has covered a wide spectrum of assignments for the Saipan Tribune. Encinares is the paper’s political reporter.

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